Stills from Agatha's play "Death Trap" directed by Lin Yi. Photo provided by interviewee
The first time I watched the play directed by Lin Yi was "Death Trap". Just as I was intoxicated with the various stage play posters hanging on the wall of the playwright Sidney Brewer's home on the right side of the stage, I worked hard When I was trying to identify various "Easter eggs" in the history of suspense novels, I was shocked when a "fraudulent corpse" suddenly appeared on the left side of the stage. Suddenly I realized that I was not only "reading" a suspense story, but also watching a thriller drama. The strong thriller experience and stage effect are the important differences between watching a drama and reading a book.
Later, in the backstage lounge, Director Lin asked me if I had noticed a plot contradiction in "Tragedy on the Nile". I, who boasted that I had read the novel and film adaptations many times, was confused at the time. It wasn't until she repeatedly deduced the plot that I discovered the flaw - when the male protagonist Simon Doyle handled the pistol, velvet shawl and ink-stained handkerchief, he should choose to handle them separately, so as to minimize the risk of discovery. risks of. I was impressed that she read it so carefully. Director Lin replied that they "read" the original work through personal performance. When the actor completely puts himself into the role, any unreasonable behavior will be particularly keenly felt. This is perhaps another difference between drama and fiction.
From 2003 to the present, Lin Yi has rehearsed many Agatha Christie works such as "No One Survived", "Witness for the Prosecution" and "Murder on the Orient Express". Her pursuit of "not adapting" is not understood as being faithful to the original work, or due to the modesty and low-key character of the director, but rather as a personality and working method closer to "Agatha-style".
For Agatha and Lin Yi, telling a good story itself is their biggest pursuit. In this process, it is necessary to grasp the sense of proportion, so that the drama conforms to the original work, and the work conforms to life. This goes back to Lin Yi's own drama concept, which is to open drama in the way of life, rather than in the way of drama. "What Agatha wants is not simple thinking, and neither do we want".
Honesty and Confidence in Sinful Stories
Stills from the Agatha drama "No One Survived" directed by Lin Yi. Photo provided by interviewee
Southern Weekend: When did you first come into contact with the works of Agatha Christie?
Lin Yi: I came into contact with Christie’s works relatively late, and the first thing I read was not her novels, but the scripts she wrote. In 2003, I was still a junior in the Directing Department of Shanghai Theater Academy. Our class had an opportunity to be divided into groups for directing practice. The script our group was assigned was Christie's "The Mousetrap". The translation we used at that time was "Three Blind Mice" published by Mr. Cai Xueyuan in the "New Script" magazine (note: Issues 2 and 3, 1982), and we rehearsed the entire play according to this script.
On the Chinese drama stage at that time, more emphasis was placed on social expression, and secular themes such as suspense dramas and thriller dramas were relatively rare. We performed two performances in the black box theater, and the effect was particularly good. I have never seen so many students crowded into the black box theater to watch a play.
Later, SARS was encountered, and some dramas were needed to revive the market. The Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center was very far-sighted at that time in developing the drama market, and planned a number of "small dramas" that were relatively low-cost and could drive the market, including "Capture". "Mouse Machine". All seven shows of "The Mousetrap" were sold out before it officially started. This is something we have never experienced before. In 2007, Tong Xin wanted to set up his own studio. Because of this play and our relationship with Christie, our studio was named "Mousetrap Studio". At the end of 2007, we started rehearsing "No Survival", and then we went all the way to today (Editor's note: The Chinese version of the play "The Mousetrap" staged after 2010 is not the version directed by Lin Yi, nor is it the work of Shanghai Mousetrap Theater Studio production performance version).
Southern Weekend: Agatha Christie adapted her novel "Nobody Survived" into a play in 1942. This was also her first truly staged and successful play adaptation.In 2007, the Chinese version of "No Survival" premiered. From 2007 to the year of our interview in 2024, the play "No Survival" directed by you was performed for more than 700 performances in 17 years, with an attendance rate of 100%. This number really shocked me. Why is Agatha's play Will it be so popular in China?
Lin Yi: In fact, in the British and American theater circles, Christie's works are no longer mainstream, and many plays have not been re-staged for many years. But on our stage, in a way they might be just right.
Southern Weekend: So what do you think is the charm of Agatha’s works? Or what’s the most attractive thing about it?
Lin Yi: First of all, I like Christie’s insight very much. She has a nuanced and very unique observation of life, and she does not elevate this observation to a certain theory or opinion, but weaves it into stories and puzzle. Different people will have different feelings after reading her works. Maybe you have realized a certain philosophy of life through her works, or maybe you just saw a complex and wonderful story.
Secondly, what I find particularly attractive about Christie is her honesty. Although her novels are all about the evils of human nature, you can feel her confidence in life, a very traditional confidence of the upper-middle class British people in the Victorian period. They did not avoid the bad parts of life. Don't avoid the evil of human nature. On the contrary, only by facing up to the evil of human nature can we better know how to move towards the good side. For example, in "House of Dreams", the heroine Henrietta has been helping John's wife Gerda hide the truth, but when Gerda found out and was in a desperate situation, she in turn wanted to kill Henrietta. Agatha wrote a kind of human instinct here, just like when a small animal falls into a trap, under a high degree of panic and confusion, it will instinctively bite and hurt the stretched out hand, regardless of whether it is a The hand that only comes to save you or the hand that harms you, I think this is an honest attitude towards the nature of human nature.
When I rehearsed this drama for the first time in 2010, I made adjustments to this part based on the TV series version shot by ITV in the UK, because according to my understanding at that time, a person who was originally worthy of sympathy must commit a crime because of someone. This is a reason at the level of social structure, so the understandability of this criminal behavior must be amplified before the audience will buy it. In fact, this is because we lacked the courage to face the evil of human nature at that time. Now that we and the audience are more mature, if I have the opportunity to rehearse this play again in the future, I will definitely change it back to Agatha's original story design.
Southern Weekend: The "honesty" and "confidence" you mentioned are, to paraphrase the title of Agatha's own novel, what she writes are actually "crimes under the sun". Although sin is terrible, it is the main thing in life. The tone is still sunny. Compared with Conan Doyle's "Sherlock Holmes" series of novels, which include many cases of photo extortion, forged identities, and petty theft, Agatha's novels are almost all murders, and there are many serial killings, and even " No one survived.” But we don’t seem to find Agatha’s novels more tense or frightening. This is because her novels have a highly stable and confident world view. The author’s attitude makes the murders in the novel also give people a sense of A sense of leisure and comfort, this is what Orwell called "English murder", or in popular terms now it is called a cozy mystery.
Lin Yi: But you can also see that in her later years she was still slightly pessimistic. , because the changes in the social environment actually exceeded her expectations.
Southern Weekend: Indeed, their generation of mystery novel writers from the golden age of Europe and America became somewhat pessimistic in their later years. Agatha was like this, and Ellery Quinn was even more so. He even directly began to explore the failure of detectives and the legitimacy of detectives in his novels. This may be related to the overall post-war trend of thought at that time, and existential philosophy was also in It became popular during this period.
Agatha’s works cannot be changed?
Stills from Agatha's play "Spider's Web" directed by Lin Yi.Photo provided by interviewee
Southern Weekend: usually has two ways of dealing with the introduction of a Western drama. One is to localize the story background, character names and plot content; you are taking another approach. The method is to be more faithful to the original work without making drastic adaptations?
Lin Yi: I personally advocate a second creation that is more in line with the original style. There are almost no local adaptations in the works I have rehearsed. This may be related to my personality and working style.
And I think a good work cannot exist in isolation from the era in which it is written. Of course, I admit that there are classics that can transcend history, regions and languages and are universally recognized. However, the character traits and behaviors in some works are closely related to the specific social and historical environment at that time, and cannot be established in different regions, different cultural backgrounds and social environments. For example, in the drama "Spider Web", why are people with a certain social status, such as sheriffs and diplomats, willing to help the heroine Clarissa conceal the truth? This is because the UK adopts a case law system, and trials under this judicial system have more rights. The flexible range is very likely to give them a lighter sentence due to the special circumstances of this case. If you translate this story to a civil law country that is dominated by statutory law, the behavioral motives of these characters cannot be established at all, then The most important foundation for the development of the entire story is gone.
We don’t do adaptations. Another reason is the restriction of the Chinese and British performance copyright contract. Mousetrap Studio obtained the exclusive license from Agatha Christie Limited (ACL) in 2010. If we want to adapt it, the adapted script must be sent back to the UK for review and approval. They are responsible for Christie's work.
Southern Weekend: Will the constraints of the contract restrict your specific work?
Lin Yi: I like to play within a certain definition. This may also be the reason why I appreciate Agatha Christie’s creative character. In a certain safe order, she can create freely hidden in her works. This is a kind of dance with handcuffs and shackles, which is the safety that classical style gives people. feel.
Southern Weekend: In your opinion, what are the main problems with the Agatha movies directed and starring by Kenneth Branagh in recent years? I always feel that he changed "Murder on the Orient Express" (2017) and "Tragedy on the Nile" (2022) to be very un-Agatha-like. Poirot can even stage chase and fight scenes with the murderer. , at first glance I thought it was filming Philip Marlowe or James Bond.
Lin Yi: may not only be a problem with the fighting scenes. I think the biggest problem with the new film adaptation is that it destroys the relationship between the detective Poirot and the case in the original Christie novel. In the original novel, the most amazing thing about Poirot is that on the one hand he is a functional figure who stays out of the situation, and on the other hand he is so full of flesh and blood. I think what readers like is this flesh-and-blood functional detective image. In recent movies, the image of Poirot has been over-strengthened, and it seems that the entire story cannot proceed without him. The detective itself is closely related to the story and plot advancement, which is the basic structure of modern movies, but it destroys the classical structure of Christie that the audience loves to a certain extent.
Southern Weekend: Your statement about "functional characters with full flesh and blood" breaks our traditional classification of characters in novels and dramas. To borrow Forster's concept, it means that Poirot is a "round, flat character" . One detail I can add here is that in Agatha's novels, one of Poirot's most common behaviors is "eavesdropping". Eavesdropping means that the detective is both present (so he can "hear") and not present at the same time. (Because he was hiding and "eavesdropping"), it is exactly in line with what you said about the subtle relationship and distance between Poirot and the case.
Another related question is, why did Agatha delete the role of Poirot in her adaptation of the play "Tragedy on the Nile"?
Lin Yi: According to Christie's original intention, he did not want Poirot to steal more limelight, so that the audience would not pay attention to the story and the protagonist himself. In her opinion, Poirot is an outsider. It is this group of people where the story happened, and it is this group of people that she observes. Poirot in the novel only plays the role of this observer. The story is this group's, not Poirot's. In the play script, she chose to let the audience directly observe this group of people and their stories, so Poirot was deleted. We can even notice that even in the novel, except for explaining the case, Poirot's summary of the story is only a few words.
Southern Weekend: Poirot is indeed not like Quinn. He likes to give long explanations in the end.
Lin Yi: Yes, every time Poirot solves a case, he usually only has one or two very wise summary of the whole incident.
translated "authentic"
Stills from Agatha's drama "Murder on the Orient Express" directed by Lin Yi. Photo courtesy of interviewee
Southern Weekend: Just now we discussed the issue of local adaptation and faithfulness to the original work. This is reflected in the lines that may be the most difficult, because if the original meaning is completely maintained, the actors may appear unnatural when speaking. . But on the other hand, if the lines are too localized, the actors will feel comfortable speaking them, but the flavor of the original work will be lost.
Lin Yi: does need to grasp a critical point. For example, in "Spider Web", the "number two person" of a high-ranking country comes to visit, and we translate it into "second in command". It feels like we have just stepped on the critical point, both It conveys the meaning of the original work and makes the Chinese audience feel lively and interesting, and less alienated. But if for the sake of comedy effect, it is more secular to say that it is the "second boss", it has passed that critical point and is out of date. As you said, the feeling here is very subtle.
Southern Weekend: The translation of the lines here reminds me of the translation producers at Shanghai Translation Factory. They must have faced the same problem at that time, how to translate the lines.
Lin Yi: The actor in the earliest version of "No One Survived" is also one of the veterans. Our teacher Cao Lei is a famous voice actor and director at Shanghai Translation Factory (Shanghai Film Translation Studio). She is very important to us. The early creation helped us determine many translation styles. I can give you a few examples. For example, when we were rehearsing "No One Survived," Lombard went to search the house, and Blore satirized him: mind he doesn't get you before you get him. The literal translation is: "Be careful not to let him catch you before you catch him." It is still a bit awkward to speak in Chinese. So Teacher Cao Lei took its meaning and changed it into a more interesting expression: "Be careful not to defeat the tiger, but to fall into the tiger's mouth", which is both vivid and accurate. In the play, Blore lied about being a millionaire and used a false name. At this time, he said a British proverb, cat's out of the bag. Teacher Cao Lei suggested that it should be translated into "paper bag cannot contain fire", which means "cat's out of the bag". Corresponding in terms of language style, both Chinese and English are proverbs, and the semantic expression is very vivid.
's vivid and sophisticated translation style has a profound impact on me. When I was reviewing Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman", there was a line "pick yourself up". The translation in the dictionary is "Cheer up", but it is For the dramatic situation at that time, the language of the characters was not expressive enough. Later, we used a semi-literal translation method and translated it into "Take care of yourself", which means to tell the other party: Don't let yourself be so embarrassed and embarrassed. . Expression must be based on style and situation. This may be the most important rule of drama translation.
Our script translation standards are actually learned from the translation system of the past translation factory. Nowadays, we often call our superiors "boss". This is a relatively intimate term between superiors and subordinates. However, this was actually first used by Chen Xuyi, the old director of the Shanghai Translation Factory, for the TV series "Garrison Suicide Squad". (Photographed in 1967, introduced in 1980) A word coined during dubbing.At that time, we not only had to ensure that the meaning was reasonable and accurate, but also took into account the single-syllable retroflex mouth shape of the actors in the play when speaking the original English word "ward", and finally figured out such a word. When dubbing some of Christie's most famous films, the translators at Shanghai Translation Factory often came up with wonderful ideas. For example, in the 1978 version of "Tragedy on the Nile", when Poirot responded to Miss Boris's accusation of eavesdropping, he retorted: some voice carry, the literal translation can be "some voices carry far", but this is obviously not vivid enough, and English The expression is very vivid and humorous. The final dubbing we hear is Poirot's humorous line "scratched into the ears", which is a wonderful translation. There used to be a lot of treasures to be mined in those excellent translated films, but unfortunately now it is often just called "dubbed accent", which is unfair.
Southern Weekend: Generally speaking, we think that the counterpart of "dubbed films" is the "subtitle group". Nowadays, the younger generation of viewers will think that watching movies with foreign original sounds and Chinese subtitles is a more original way. How to enjoy movies. The process of translating and translating the film may have locked in another "original" thing through Chinese expression.
Lin Yi: I think the translated film has the spirit of translation, which means respecting the original work. It is precisely in the process of translation and reinterpretation that this respect can best be reflected in the different backgrounds of you and me. . This kind of respect is also based on a kind of confidence, first of all, in the work itself, but also in self-creation.
Southern Weekend: Domestic suspense-themed film and television dramas have become very popular in recent years, such as "Mist Theater", "Tang Detective Universe", etc. What impact will this craze of suspense-themed film and television dramas have on suspense and mystery-themed dramas?
Lin Yi: viewers have a richer viewing experience and have higher requirements for works, such as the rigor of reasoning, the excitement and rationality of the final reversal, etc. This, in turn, shows how great Christie is. After all these years, her works can still meet the current audience's requirements for suspense and reasoning.
At the same time, the audience now has higher requirements for stage presentation, drama rhythm, etc. For example, when "Spider Web" is "revived" this year, we will consider increasing the density of the performance, the rhythm of the entire drama, and the concentration of the comedy scenes. The duration of the performance now is exactly the same as ten years ago, but we have actually added a lot of content to it, so the actual performance pace has been sped up and the entire stage has become more lively.
Southern Weekend: When I watched the show "Spider's Web", I was reminded of Hitchcock's movie "The Trouble with Harry" (1955), which is also a movie about a corpse. It is a suspenseful comedy, but compared with the "Spider Web" you are rehearsing now, the drama density is indeed very different. Of course, it doesn’t mean which rhythm and density are better. It can only be said that audiences are now more inclined to fast-paced and high-density dramas.
Lin Yi: There is no shortage of such themes in British comedies. When I just graduated from college, I participated in a play called Out of Order produced by the Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center. The Chinese play is called "Out of Order", which also revolves around a "corpse" "A British comedy that unfolds. In fact, the biggest challenge in arranging a suspense comedy like "Spider Web" is how to make the audience laugh until they are laughing, while also accurately conveying the details and information related to the reasoning.
Southern Weekend: How to do specifically? Can you give me an example?
Lin Yi: For example, when the detective received the alarm and came to the manor, we strengthened the tasks and actions of several characters in the play who had "ghosts in their hearts", that is, to prevent the detective from discovering the secrets of the dark room. They showed great interest in the information the detective said, and used this to attract the detective's attention and prevent him from walking in the direction of the dark room. This not only creates action and counter-action on the stage, creating a comic effect, but also strengthens the information the detective says and guides the audience's reasoning.
In fact, all this was set up for us by Christie a long time ago. We just dug out the scenarios she prescribed, emphasized the characters’ actions, presented them, and conveyed the information to the audience in a way that is more acceptable to the current audience. . Christie's scripts themselves are an inexhaustible resource.
Southern Weekend staff writer Zhan Yubing
editor-in-chief Liu Youxiang
